With Halloween approaches, it’s no surprise that people are joining together to watch movies. While trick or treating is Halloween’s main event, that doesn’t mean watching movies isn’t an option too. With so many movies, it can be hard to choose what to watch. Some spooky classics include “Hocus Pocus”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “The Addams Family” and “The Shining”.
“Hocus Pocus” is a movie about Max Dennison, played by Omri Katz, a teenager who accidentally sets free a trio of evil witches. The witches also known as the Sanderson sisters, played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, set out to become immortal. Max Dennison, his sister Dani, played by Thora Birch and their friend Allison, played by Vinessa Shaw must stop them. The film is a true Halloween classic known by many, including State High students.
Junior Katelyn Watschke mentioned it.
“I like a lot of the Disney Halloween movies like ‘Hocus Pocus’ or ‘Girl vs Monster’ or ‘Twitches’,” Watschke said.
“Girl Vs Monster” and “Twitches” like “Hocus Pocus” involve the supernatural making them good watches for Halloween. The movies can all be found on Disney+. However, some stick out from the rest.
“I would say ‘Hocus Pocus’ [is best] just cause it’s like a classic one, I feel like a lot of people know it,” Watschke said.
Junior Yida Zhang had heard of it although she had never actually watched it. “I actually don’t really watch Halloween movies but I heard about like ‘Hocus Pocus’, is that what it’s called? I really want to watch it,” Zhang said.
Another movie to watch is “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Despite having Christmas in the title, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a movie that fits Halloween. Tim Burton, a filmmaker known for his uncanny art style was the creator-producer. He was responsible for designing the movie’s main character, Jack Skellington. Jack Skellington was voiced by Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman, who did his singing voice. In the movie, Jack gets tired of bringing Halloween to the “real world” every year. When he learns about Christmas, he plans on kidnapping Santa Claus and taking on the role instead.
The movie features many songs, one of which, junior Vinnie Lafrazza-Schwartz remembered.
“All I remember is the one song, ‘This is Halloween’,” Lafrazza-Schwartz said. “I like the style, the music’s good. I remember it’s pretty interesting,”
“This Is Halloween” is the opening song that shows viewers Halloween Town with its spooky stop motion visuals.
For those more interested in watching horror movies involving blood and death, ‘The Shining’ is a classic horror movie with widely known images such as twins standing in a hallway, or someone chopping through a door with an ax while saying, “Here’s Johnny!”
“I really like ‘The Shining’ even though it’s not really Halloween, but it’s a good horror movie,” Lafrazza-Schwartz said.
The movie doesn’t take place during Halloween, but the horrors of it certainly match up with the holiday. The movie follows Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, who becomes a winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. He goes there with his wife, Wendy, played by Shelly Duvall and his son Danny, played by Danny Lloyd, who suffers from psychic premonitions. While trying to cure his writer’s block, Jack discovers some of the hotel’s dark secrets and turns into a homicidal maniac. While compared to other horror movies, “The Shining” lacks in violence, it doesn’t lack in being a spine chilling movie.
Unlike “The Shining”, “The Addams Family” isn’t a horror movie, but it still includes frightening elements, though it shows them in a more comedic manner.
“My personal favorite is a very good remnant of my childhood, it’s probably ‘The Addams Family,’” junior Dasha Nekrutenko said. “We didn’t really watch this on Halloween, my family and I, we’d watch it on my birthday but it’s very Halloween vibes. I actually love that movie.”
The movie is about Gomez Addams, played by Raul Julia, reuniting with his brother Fester, played by Christopher Lloyd, after he went missing. Gomez and his family are thrilled to see Fester, but Gomez’s wife, Morticia, played by Anjelica Huston, begins to suspect he’s a fraud.
Halloween is a time of fun and scares. For those who choose not to go out trick or treating, watching a spooky movie is a great alternative. Whether someone goes trick or treating or spends Halloween at home, everyone should give “Hocus Pocus”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “The Shining” or “The Addams Family” a try for the makings of a spooky Halloween night.
